Battery module

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a battery module, including two or more battery cells, each including an electrode terminal; a connecting member, wherein the electrode terminals of adjacent battery cells are connected by the connecting member; and a clamping-sampling member, including a wire connection portion for fixing a wire harness and a clamping portion, wherein one end of the clamping portion is connected with the wire connection portion and the other end of the clamping portion clamps the connecting member.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is the National stage of International Application No.PCT/CN2019/120880 filed on Nov. 26, 2019, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201822267068.2, tilted “BATTERY MODULE”and filed on Dec. 29, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to a production filed of energy storagedevice, and particularly relates to a battery module.

BACKGROUND

Currently, voltage is sampled by directly fixing a wire harness forcollecting information on a connecting member by ultrasonic welding,aluminum wire bonding welding or laser welding. In the case of theultrasonic welding and aluminum wire bonding welding, a strength isrelatively low, and after the welding, the wire harness may easily breakand thus fail when the battery module is subjected to vibration impacts,resulting in a low safety and reliability. The laser welding requires arelatively high flatness for the connecting member, resulting in a lowpeel strength after welding. Therefore, the connection also may faileasily under long-term cycle use of the battery and vibration impacts.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it needs a battery module to solve the technical problem thatit is difficult to fix the wire harness for information collection withthe connecting member.

For the above purpose, the present application provides a batterymodule, including:

-   -   two or more battery cells, each including an electrode terminal;    -   a connecting member, wherein the electrode terminals of adjacent        battery cells are connected by the connecting member; and    -   a clamping-sampling member, including a wire connection portion        for fixing a wire harness and a clamping portion, wherein one        end of the clamping portion is connected with the wire        connection portion and the other end of the clamping portion        clamps the connecting member.

According to the embodiments on one aspect of the present application,the clamping portion includes a first clamping part and a secondclamping part, one end of the first clamping part is fixedly connectedwith one end of the second clamping part, while the other end of thefirst clamping part and the other end of the second clamping part forman opening of the clamping portion, and the one ends of the firstclamping part and the second clamping part fixedly connected to eachother are connected with the wire connection portion.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the first clamping part and the second clamping part areintegrally formed.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the connecting member is provided with a samplinginstallation portion, and the clamping portion clamps the samplinginstallation portion.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the sampling installation portion is provided on a side ofthe connecting member facing the wire harness.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the sampling installation portion is formed by anindentation of the connecting member towards a battery top cover, sothat the clamping-sampling member is attached to the battery top coverwhen clamping the sampling installation portion.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the first clamping part and the second clamping part areindependently formed; the first clamping part is provided with a holdingpart for holding the second clamping part, or the second clamping partis provided with a holding part for holding the first clamping part,wherein the holding part is located at the one ends of the firstclamping part and the second clamping part fixedly connected to eachother.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the holding part includes two side wings respectivelyconnected to two sides of the first clamping part or the second clampingpart, each side wing is formed in a shape of “L” and includes a firstarm and a second arm, the second arm is connected to the first clampingpart or the second clamping part via the first arm, and the second armsof the two side wings are formed to extend towards each other.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the first clamping part and the second clamping part form aguide opening which flares outwards at an end of the opening.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the first clamping part is provided with a protrusion on aside surface of the opening facing the second clamping part, or thesecond clamping part is provided with a protrusion on a side surface ofthe opening facing the first clamping part; and the samplinginstallation portion is provided with a connection hole, and theprotrusion is matched with the connection hole.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, there are two or more connection holes.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the sampling installation portion is further provided witha guide slot extending from an end of the sampling installation portiontowards an inside of the connecting member, so that the protrusion onthe first clamping part or the second clamping part can slide along theguide slot.

According to any of the above embodiments on one aspect of the presentapplication, the wire connection portion has a U-shaped cross section,so that the wire harness is installed within the wire connectionportion.

In the embodiments of the present application, the wire harness forinformation collection in the battery module is connected to theconnecting member by clamping the connecting member to theclamping-sampling member, instead of directly welding the wire harnesswith the connecting member. The information collection is achieved bydirectly fixing the wire harness on the wire connection portion and thenclamping the connecting member to the clamping portion, which caneffectively improve connection strength between the wire harness forinformation collection and the connecting member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical effects of exemplary embodiments ofthe present disclosure will be described below with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein the drawings are not drawn to actualscale.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a batterymodule as a whole according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a state diagram showing a clamping-sampling member of abattery module clamping a connecting member according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a connectingmember of a battery module according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the portion A in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of aclamping-sampling member of a battery module according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of aclamping-sampling member of a battery module according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of aclamping-sampling member of a battery module provided with a protrusionaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   1. battery cell;    -   11. electrode terminal;    -   12. battery top cover;    -   2. connecting member;    -   21. sampling installation portion;    -   22. guide slot;    -   23. connection hole;    -   3. clamping-sampling member;    -   31. first clamping part;    -   32. second clamping part;    -   33. opening;    -   34. holding part;    -   35. guide opening;    -   36. protrusion;    -   37. wire connection portion;    -   4. wire harness.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to illustrate in detail the technical contents, structuralfeatures, realized objects and effects of the technical solution, thefollowing detailed description will be given in combination with thespecific embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

In the description of the present application, unless otherwisespecified and limited, the terms “first”, “second” are only used forpurpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating orimplying relative importance; unless otherwise specified and stated, theterms “install”, “connect”, or the like shall be understood broadly, andmay be, for example, a fixed connection, a disassemble connection, anintegral connection, or an electrical connection, and may be a directconnection or an indirect connection via an intermediate medium. Thespecific meaning of the above terms in the present disclosure can beunderstood by the person skilled in the art according to actualcircumstance.

In the description of the present disclosure, it shall be understoodthat, positional terms, such as “upper”, “lower”, “left” and “right” areintended to make description in reference to angle of view as shown inthe accompanying drawings, while not to limit the embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Further, in the context, it shall be furtherunderstood that, when it mentions that one component is connected to “atop” or “a bottom” of another component, it not only means that thecomponent is directly connected to “the top” or “the bottom” of anothercomponent, but also means that the component is indirectly connected to“the top” or “the bottom” of another component via an intermediatecomponent.

Refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the present application provides a batterymodule, which includes: two or more battery cells 1, connecting members2 and clamping-sampling members 3, wherein the battery cells 1 aredisposed in an arrangement, that is, two or more battery cells 1 arearranged side by side. Each battery cell 1 is provided with an electrodeterminal 11, and the electrode terminals 11 of adjacent battery cells 1are connected by the connecting member 2; the clamping-sampling member 3includes a wire connection portion 37 for fixing a wire harness 4 and aclamping portion, wherein one end of the clamping portion is connectedwith the wire connection portion 37, and the other end of the clampingportion clamps the connecting member 2. The wire connection portion 37is used to fix the wire harness 4 for information collection, and theclamping portion is used for clamping of the clamping-sampling member 3on the connecting member 2. The clamping portion and the wire connectionportion 37 are both conductors for information collection. Theinformation collection wire harness 4 obtains voltage information on theconnecting member 2 via the wire connection portion 37 and the clampingportion, so as to obtain the voltage situation among the battery cells 1in the battery module.

As shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 , in some preferred embodiments, theclamping portion includes a first clamping part 31 and a second clampingpart 32 located on two sides of the clamping portion. That is, theclamping portion includes the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part 32. One end of the first clamping part 31 is fixedlyconnected with one end of the second clamping part 32, while the otherend of the first clamping part 31 and the other end of the secondclamping part 32 form an opening 33 of the clamping portion, and the oneends of the first clamping part 31 and the second clamping part 32fixedly connected to each other are connected with the wire connectionportion 37.

In these embodiments, the first clamping part 31 and the second clampingpart 32 are each formed in a sheet-like shape and have the same size.The other end of the first clamping part 31 extends in a same directionas the other end of the second clamping part 32, and the opening 33formed by the first clamping part 31 and the second clamping part 32 isused to fix the clamping portion on the connecting member 2.

The opening 33 formed between the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part 32 may be closed when not in use, that is, at least partof the first clamping part 31 and at least part of the second clampingpart 32 are attached to each other when the opening is not in use; or,the opening 33 formed between the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part 32 has a smallest gap value less than a thickness value ofthe connecting member 2, that is, the smallest distance between thefirst clamping part 31 and the second clamping part 32 is smaller thanor equal to the thickness value of the connecting member 2. When usingthe clamping portion, an operator separates the first clamping portion31 and the second clamping portion 32 so as to open the opening 33 andclamp the connecting member 2 to the clamping portion. Since the opening33 formed between the first clamping part 31 and the second clampingpart 32 is in a closed state or has a smallest gap value smaller thanthe thickness value of the connecting member 2, when clamping theconnecting member 2 to the clamping portion, the clamping portion can befixed with the connecting member 2.

In some preferred embodiments, the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part 32 are integrally formed. An integral member of the firstclamping part 31 and the second clamping part 32 are bent in a middleportion to form a first clamping part 31 and a second clamping part 32opposite to each other, that is, the first clamping part 31 and thesecond clamping part 32 that are integrally formed are connected to eachother via a bending part. The bending part is provided with a wireconnection portion 37 for connecting with the information collectionwire harness 4. After bending, the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part 32 opposite to each other form an opening 33 of theclamping portion. That is, the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part 32 connected by the bending part form the opening 33 ofthe clamping portion. The first clamping part 31 and the second clampingpart 32 are made of ductile materials to ensure an elasticity of theopening 33 of the clamping portion.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , in some preferred embodiments, theconnecting member 2 is provided with a sampling installation portion 21,and the clamping portion clamps the sampling installation portion 21. Inorder to facilitate the installation of the clamping-sampling member 3on the connecting member 2, the sampling installation portion 21 isarranged at a side position of the connecting member 2. That is, thesampling installation portion 21 is provided on a side of the connectingmember 2 facing the wire harness 4. The sampling installation portion 21provided on the connecting member 2, which is formed in a sheet-likeshape, is an area recessed towards a battery top cover 12. That is, thesampling installation portion 21 is formed by an indentation of theconnecting member 2 towards the battery top cover 12. After theclamping-sampling member 3 clamps the sampling installation portion 21of the connecting member 2, the clamping-sampling member 3 is attachedon a top of the battery top cover 12, and the wire harness 4 fixed onthe wire connection portion 37 of the clamping-sampling member 3 mayalso be disposed on the top of the battery top cover 12, so as toprevent the wire harness 4 from being suspended and thus breaking due tovibrations during the use of the battery module.

In some preferred embodiments, the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part are independently formed. The first clamping part 31 isprovided with a holding part 34 for holding the second clamping part 32,or, the second clamping part 32 is provided with a holding part 34 forholding the first clamping part 31, wherein the holding part 34 islocated at the one ends of the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part 32 fixedly connected to each other. That is, the other endof the first clamping part 31 and the other end of the second clampingpart 32 are connected to each other by the holding part 34.

The holding part 34 provided on the first clamping part 31 extendsoutwards respectively from two sides of the first clamping part 31 andthus forms two side wings. That is, the holding part 34 provided on thefirst clamping part 31 includes two side wings respectively connected tothe two sides of the first clamping part 31. The side wing is formed ina shape of “L” and includes a first arm and a second arm. The second armis connected to the first clamping part 31 via the first arm, and thesecond arms of the two side wings are formed to extend towards eachother. After attaching the second clamping part 32 to the first clampingpart 31, the two side wings of the first clamping part 31 holds thesecond clamping part 32 (that is, the second clamping part 32 is locatedbetween the two second arms and the first clamping part 31), so as tofix the first clamping part 31 with the second clamping part 32.

The holding part 34 provided on the second clamping part 32 extendsoutwards respectively from two sides of the second clamping part 32 andthus forms two side wings. That is, the holding part 34 provided on thesecond clamping part 32 includes two side wings respectively connectedto the two sides of the second clamping part 32. The side wing is formedin a shape of “L” and includes a first arm and a second arm. The secondarm is connected to the second clamping part 32 via the first arm, andthe second arms of the two side wings are formed to extend towards eachother. After attaching the first clamping part 31 to the second clampingpart 32, the two side wings of the second clamping part 32 holds thefirst clamping part 31 (that is, the first clamping part 31 is locatedbetween the two second arms and the second clamping part 32), so as tofix the second clamping part 32 with the first clamping part 31.

In some preferred embodiments, the first clamping part 31 and the secondclamping part 32 forms a guide opening 35, which flares outwards, at theend of the opening 33. That is, the ends of the first clamping part 31and the second clamping part 32 separated from each other, extend awayfrom each other and thus form a guide opening 35. The guide opening 35functions to facilitate positioning of the clamping-sampling member 3relative to the connecting member 2. After aligning the guide opening 35of the clamping-sampling member 3 with the connecting member 2, theclamping-sampling member 3 may be pushed towards the connecting member 2so that the clamping-sampling member 3 clamps the connecting member 2.

In some preferred embodiments, the first clamping part 31 is providedwith a protrusion 36 on a side surface of the opening 33 facing thesecond clamping part 32, that is, the first clamping part 31 is providedwith a protrusion 36 on a surface facing the second clamping part 32.Or, a second clamping part 32 is provided with a protrusion 36 on a sidesurface of the opening 33 facing the first clamping part 31, that is,the second clamping part 32 is provided with a protrusion 36 on asurface facing the first clamping part 31. The sampling installationportion 21 is provided with a connection hole 23, and the protrusion 36is matched with the connection hole 23. When the clamping-samplingmember 3 clamps the connecting member 2, the protrusion 36 provided onthe first clamping part 31 or the second clamping part 32 is engagedwith the connection hole 23, which can effectively prevent theclamping-sampling member 3 from detaching from the connecting member 2.

In some alternative embodiments, there are two or more connection holes23, and there are two or more protrusions 36, which is beneficial forfixing the clamping-sampling member 3 in a direction parallel to theconnecting member 2, so as to prevent the clamping-sampling member 3from rotating in the connection hole 23 of the connecting member 2 andthus affecting the connection strength of the wire harness 4 with thewire connection portion 37.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , in some alternative embodiments, thesampling installation portion 21 is further provided with a guide slot22 extending from an end of the sampling installation portion 21 towardsan inside of the connecting member 2, and the protrusion 36 on the firstclamping part 31 or the second clamping part 32 may slide along theguide slot 22. The guide slot 22 is used to facilitate positioning ofthe protrusion 36 on the first clamping part 31 or the second clampingpart 32, so that the protrusion 36 on the first clamping part 31 or thesecond clamping part 32 can slide along the guide slot 22 and engageinto the connection hole 23.

In some alternative embodiments, there are three connection holes 23provided on the sampling installation portion 21, and the threeconnection holes 23 are distributed in a triangular arrangement, thatis, the three connection holes 23 are not in the same straight line.Correspondingly, there are also three protrusions 36 provided on thefirst clamping part 31 or the second clamping part 32, wherein one ofthe connection holes 23 corresponds to an end position of the guide slot22 and may communicate with the guide slot 22, or in other embodiments,may not communicate with the guide slot 22. In the present embodiment,one of the protrusions 36 on the clamping-sampling member 3 slides alongthe guide slot 22 until all the three protrusions 36 are engaged withthe corresponding connection holes 23, so as to complete theinstallation of the clamping-sampling member 3.

In some preferred embodiments, the wire connection portion 37 has aU-shaped cross section, and the information collection wire harness 4 ismounted in a U-shaped groove of the wire connection portion 37, and thenmay be fixed by pressing two side walls of the U-shaped groove towardseach other. The two side walls of the U-shaped wire connection portion37 may protect the wire harness 4, provide a relatively large contactsurface for the wire harness 4 and the clamping-sampling member 3, andenhance the connection strength of the wire harness 4. In otherembodiments, the wire connection portion 37 may be formed as a tubularmember. The information collection wire harness 4 is inserted into thetubular member and is fixed by extruding and deforming the wire harness4.

It shall be understood by the person skilled in the art that the aboveembodiments are exemplary and not limiting. Different technical featuresappearing in different embodiments may be combined to achieve beneficialeffects. On the basis of studying the accompanying drawings,descriptions and claims, the person skilled in the art are able tounderstand and realize the disclosed embodiments and other changesthereof. In the claims, the term “comprise” does not exclude otherdevices or steps; when an article is not modified with a quantifier, itis intended to include one or more articles, and can be usedinterchangeably with the term “one or more articles”. Any referencenumbers in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope ofprotection. The functions of the plurality of parts appearing in theclaims can be realized by a single hardware or software module. Thepresence of certain technical features in different dependent claimsdoes not mean that these technical features cannot be combined toachieve beneficial effects.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery module, comprising: two or more batterycells, each comprising an electrode terminal; a connecting member,wherein the electrode terminals of adjacent battery cells are connectedby the connecting member; and a clamping-sampling member, comprising awire connection portion for fixing a wire harness and a clampingportion, wherein one end of the clamping portion is connected with thewire connection portion and another end of the clamping portion clampsthe connecting member, wherein a sampling installation portion isprovided on a side of the connecting member facing the wire harness, andthe clamping portion clamps the sampling installation portion, thesampling installation portion extends from the side of the connectingmember facing the wire harness and is recessed towards a battery topcover, so that the clamping-sampling member is attached directly to thebattery top cover when clamping the sampling installation portion. 2.The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the clamping portioncomprises a first clamping part and a second clamping part, one end ofthe first clamping part is fixedly connected with one end of the secondclamping part, while another end of the first clamping part and anotherend of the second clamping part form an opening of the clamping portion,and the one ends of the first clamping part and the second clamping partfixedly connected to each other are connected with the wire connectionportion.
 3. The battery module according to claim 2, wherein the firstclamping part and the second clamping part are integrally formed.
 4. Thebattery module according to claim 2, wherein the first clamping part andthe second clamping part are independently formed; the first clampingpart is provided with a holding part for holding the second clampingpart, or the second clamping part is provided with a holding part forholding the first clamping part, wherein the holding part for holdingthe second clamping part or the holding part for holding the firstclamping part is located at the one ends of the first clamping part andthe second clamping part fixedly connected to each other.
 5. The batterymodule according to claim 4, wherein the holding part for holding thesecond clamping part or the holding part for holding the first clampingpart comprises two side wings respectively connected to two sides of thefirst clamping part or the second clamping part, each side wing isformed in a shape of “L” and comprises a first arm and a second arm, thesecond arm is connected to the first clamping part or the secondclamping part via the first arm, and the second arms of the two sidewings are formed to extend towards each other.
 6. The battery moduleaccording to claim 2, wherein the first clamping part and the secondclamping part form a guide opening which flares outwards at an end ofthe opening.
 7. The battery module according to claim 2, wherein thefirst clamping part is provided with a protrusion on a side surface ofthe opening facing the second clamping part, or the second clamping partis provided with a protrusion on a side surface of the opening facingthe first clamping part; and the sampling installation portion isprovided with a connection hole, and the protrusion is matched with theconnection hole.
 8. The battery module according to claim 5, whereinthere are two or more connection holes.
 9. The battery module accordingto claim 5, wherein the sampling installation portion is furtherprovided with a guide slot extending from an end of the samplinginstallation portion towards an inside of the connecting member, so thatthe protrusion on the first clamping part or the second clamping partcan slide along the guide slot.
 10. The battery module according toclaim 1, wherein the wire connection portion has a U-shaped crosssection, so that the wire harness is installed within the wireconnection portion.